Risk Can Widen the Window of Opportunity

by Carl Pritchard

The current economic climate seems to be taking its "risk toll." It's not that organizations are now forced into situations where they have to take risks that they would not otherwise take. In fact, the exact opposite phenomenon seems to be occurring. Organizations seem to be crawling into the safest elements of their portfolios and hunkering down for the duration. The World Trade Organization this month withdrew plans to establish a new trade agreement between the EU and Gulf Arab states (Reuters, 15 December 2008). The New Jersey hamlet of Sea Bright dropped a move to a new municipal headquarters (The Hub, 11 December 2008). Retailing leviathan Wal-Mart has given up on its plans for a new store in the Silicon Valley (San Jose Mercury-News, 5 December 2008). While those seem like safe, well-considered risk strategies, the reality is that now is the time for the risk-prone among us to stop taking a pass on risks, and instead jump feet first into the fray.